NSW Police have confirmed investigations are underway to uncover what occurred inside a luxury apartment complex in Sydney’s northwest that led to an 11-year-old boy being shot in the head.
The child remains in a critical condition after suffering serious gunshot wounds at a unit on Fairway Drive at Norwest, in Sydney’s Hills District, about 5pm on Monday.
Superintendent Naomi Moore addressed the media on Tuesday afternoon, revealing there were more people involved with the incident who fled the scene before police arrived.
“Some of the people who were present at the time of the shooting are not currently co-operating with investigators,” she said.
Supt Moore also confirmed that some of those involved are known to police, as well as indicating their suspected link to organised crime groups.
“A number of individuals that were inside the unit at the time are well known to NSW Police and their association with organised crime is being considered by investigators,” she said.
Supt Moore indicated that one bullet was used in the shooting of the 11-year-old and it is still lodged in his skull despite him undergoing surgery.
“We believe there was one bullet, and that it may still be in the victim. I think he’s had his surgery and there’s no other bullets that we’re aware of.”
An 18-year-old man has since been charged with concealing a serious indictable offence after three teenagers were initially arrested as part of the investigation.
NSW Premier Chris Minns spoke out about the incident on Tuesday morning, declaring “there’s never a safe gun.”
Mr Minns described the shooting as a “horrible event” and said police were working to determine why a firearm was inside the home.
“Obviously, it’s under police investigation, so it’s difficult for me to comment. But this is an innocent boy.
“We’re getting to the bottom of NSW. Police are getting to the bottom of why there was a gun in that household in the first place,” he said.
Mr Minns said the shooting demonstrated the devastating consequences firearms could have, particularly when innocent people were caught up in incidents involving guns.
“There’s a person who’s under arrest who understands cooperating with NSW Police, but there’s never a safe gun, and this is an example of the damage that they can do, particularly to innocent people,” he said.
“We need to make sure that there’s less of them in the street, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
Emergency services were called to the Norwest apartment on Monday afternoon following reports a child had been shot.
Officers arrived to find the 11-year-old suffering gunshot wounds after being shot “in the face and neck” from inside the home.
Police provided emergency assistance before paramedics arrived and rushed the boy to hospital for lifesaving treatment.
His devastated mother accompanied him to hospital and remained by his bedside as doctors worked to treat his injuries.
Supt Moore said the boy’s mother was understandably distressed by the ordeal.
“She is as distressed, as any parent would be, about what she is dealing with at the moment,” she told reporters.
“It is an (absolutely) tragic situation and as we’ve seen some tragedy across Sydney in the last couple of days, this is not far from the worst that I have seen.”
Four 18-year-old men and a 43-year-old woman were confirmed to be at the apartment complex when emergency services arrived.
Police said those inside the property included relatives and friends who had been “allowed access” to the home.
Three of the 18-year-old men were arrested on Monday and taken to Castle Hill Police Station.
Police have since charged one of the men with concealing a serious indictable offence.
He was refused bail and his hearing has been adjourned until next month.
The other two men were released pending further inquiries.
Police have not revealed exactly what they believe happened inside the apartment before the boy was shot or who allegedly fired the weapon.
A major focus of the investigation remains locating the firearm involved in the shooting, which Supt Moore refused to provide details on.
“I won’t even suggest that that is something that, you know, is something that occurred ... that there has been a gunman, so to speak,” she said.”
Police have not found the weapon and Supt Moore confirmed there are no firearms registered to the Fairway Drive address, however the property and its occupants are known to police.
Detectives are now working to determine how a gun came to be inside the property, who had access to it and the circumstances in which it was fired.
The apartment was declared a crime scene as forensic officers and detectives began examining the property for evidence and piecing together the movements of those inside the home.
The investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with information that could assist police has been urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
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